John Benjamin Pryor

John Benjamin Pryor (1812 - December 26,1890), was a noted Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He was the trainer of Lexington, a top racehorse of the 1850s and whose excellence in competition and as a sire stud continued well into the 20th century earning the horse induction in to the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955.

Birth and parentage

Born in 1812 in Virginia to parents Luke Pryor and Ann Batte Lane. His brother was US Senator Luke Pryor from Alabama.¹

Family and career

John Benjamin Pryor was counted in Adams County, Mississippi on the 1850 and 1860 US Census.² He was a slave owner and horse trainer, employed by the prominent Mississippi politician Adam Lewis Bingaman, he was the trainer of [http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/lexington.htm Lexington] the most famous race horse of the 1850’s. After racing entrepreneur [http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9503880 Richard Ten Broeck] purchased the horse "in no very long time Lexington was shipped south to Natchez, where he was placed in charge of Adam Lewis Bingaman, whose stable was trained by the veteran J. B. Pryor, then at the head of his profession."³ Lexington's skeleton is displayed at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and in the 1950’s he was entered into the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga, New York.

By the 1861 UK Census Pryor had traveled to England, where he continued his employment as a horse trainer at [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=18797 Chesterfield House] in Woodditton, Cambridgeshire, living with his wife Frances, sister in law Cordelia Bingaman, and 7 children.⁴ Pryor's family was still in England in 1871 and counted on the census at another racing establishment, [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/compton.html Roden House] in Compton, Berkshire.

Return to United States

Pryor and his family returned to the United States aboard the ship [http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=cimbr Cimbria] , entering New York City on October 12, 1872.⁵ By 1880 Pryor was living in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp 1880 US Census] answers a question as to the possible identity of Pryor’s wife. Although UK records reflect that Pryor had children born as early as 1849, neither his wife nor the children were recorded on the 1850 or 1860 US Census. In 1880 Pryor was recorded as "white" and his children's race as "mulatto" indicating that his wife may have been either a free African-American or a slave.

Pryor's sons also became horse trainers. Luke began his own training career in 1872 under the employment of avid sportsman August Belmont, namesake of the Belmont Stakes in the U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Luke Pryor was involved in a racing partnership with his brother, William.³ Allen Davis Pryor worked as a trainer at the Morris Park in The Bronx. Also son John Pryor worked as a horse trainer in New Jersey.⁶

References

^[1] cite book
title = The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
publisher = The Virginia Historical Society
date = 1900
pages = p. 326

^[2] cite web
title = Ancestry.com, 1850 and 1860 US Census Records
url=http://www.ancestry.com/
accessdate = 2006-12-21

^[3] cite book
last = Hervey
first = John
title = Racing in America
publisher = The Jockey Club, New York
date = 1944
vol = 2

^[4] cite web
title = Ancestry.com, 1861 and 1871 UK Census Records
url=http://www.ancestry.com/
accessdate = 2006-12-20

^[5] cite web
title = Ancestry.com, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
url=http://www.ancestry.com/
accessdate = 2006-12-22

^[6] cite web
title = Ancestry.com, 1900 US Census Records
url=http://www.ancestry.com/
accessdate = 2006-12-21

Other resources

cite web
title = Tennessee Pryor website
url=http://www.tnpryors.com
accessdate = 2007-01-21